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PCBAL Stage 1

In May 2016, the Policing Project kicked off the PCBAL with a roundtable discussion on the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of policing practices.

Over twenty academics, from a wide range of disciplines – including psychology, economics, criminology, political science, law, and sociology – gathered to discuss the best approach to using CBA in policing. Specifically, the attendees brainstormed about ways to tackle the various methodological and practical obstacles to using CBA in the analysis of policing practices.

Attendees considered the following important questions: 1) what kinds of costs or benefits are typically overlooked when evaluating policing practices? 2) how can we fairly and accurately put a dollar figure on difficult-to-quantify aspects of policing? and 3) what research designs should we use to evaluate the effects of policing on society?